v0.1.1 to v0.1.2

---

name: consumer-report-ordering

description: >

---

# Consumer Report Ordering

> **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** This skill produces drafting aids and checklists. It is not legal advice

> and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Verify every deadline, dollar threshold,

> and statutory citation against current law before relying on or filing anything.

## Purpose

You cannot exercise a right you cannot see. The first move in any credit-report matter is to get

**every** report the consumer is entitled to — not just the Big-3, but the specialty agencies that

quietly drive insurance premiums, apartment denials, bank-account openings, and job offers.

Ordering reports is also what **surfaces the errors** that cause higher interest rates, denials,

and other financial harm — the harm that later supports a claim.

The canonical statutory text is in

[`../../references/federal-debt-laws/FCRA.md`](../../references/federal-debt-laws/FCRA.md)

(15 U.S.C. §§ 1681–1681x). Cite to it; do not paraphrase the statute from memory.

## What to order

### The Big-3 national credit bureaus

Equifax, Experian, TransUnion — order all three; their files differ, and an error often appears on

one but not the others.

### Nationwide specialty consumer-reporting agencies (CRAs)

Order these too — most consumers never see them, and they are exactly where stale or wrong data

causes overpayment and denials:

| Domain | Common agency | Drives |

|---|---|---|

| Auto/home insurance | LexisNexis **C.L.U.E.** | Premiums, policy denials |

| Employment history | The Work Number (Equifax) | Hiring, income verification |

| Tenant screening | Various (RealPage, TransUnion SmartMove, etc.) | Rental denials |

| Medical | **MIB** | Life/health/disability underwriting |

| Prescription | Milliman IntelliScript | Insurance underwriting |

| Checking / deposit | **ChexSystems**, Early Warning | New-account denials |

| Utility / telecom | **NCTUE** | Deposits, service denials |

A fuller list is maintained by the CFPB ("list of consumer reporting companies"). The skill should

direct the consumer there for current addresses and order links rather than hard-coding them.

## Free-report entitlements

Order through the right door so the report is **free** and the entitlement is documented:

1. **Annual free report** — via `annualcreditreport.com` (the only federally authorized site).

Specialty CRAs must also provide a free annual file disclosure on request.

2. **After an adverse action** — when a consumer is denied (or charged more for) credit,

insurance, employment, or a rental based on a report, they may request a **free** report from

the CRA that supplied it. The statutory request window is **60 days** from the adverse-action

notice (15 U.S.C. § 1681j(b); the notice itself is required by § 1681m). The source guidance is

to act fast — within roughly **15 business days** — so the report is pulled while the denial is

fresh and the harm is documentable. Treat 15 business days as a promptness target, not the

statutory deadline.

3. **Other free triggers** — identity-theft / fraud-alert victims, victims of a **data breach**,

consumers on **public assistance**, and the **unemployed** (intending to apply for work within

60 days) are entitled to additional free reports. See § 1681j(c)–(d).

## When a bureau misses the deadline

If a CRA fails to deliver a report the consumer is entitled to within the required time, that

failure can itself be a violation supporting a **private right of action** (15 U.S.C. § 1681n for

willful noncompliance, § 1681o for negligent). Document the request date, the method, and the

non-delivery. See `consumer-harm-documentation` for preservation of the record, and

`consumer-credit-disputes` for the lawful dispute framework if the consumer chooses to pursue

one. The decision whether to dispute or to sue is the consumer's.

## Workflow

1. **Inventory** which reports the consumer needs (always Big-3; add specialty CRAs matching the

harm — insurance premium hike → C.L.U.E.; bank-account denial → ChexSystems; apartment denial →

tenant screening; etc.).

2. **Pick the cheapest lawful door** (annual vs. adverse-action vs. other free trigger) and record

which entitlement is being invoked.

3. **Generate the request artifacts** (below), each dated, with proof-of-mailing guidance routed to

`consumer-harm-documentation`.

4. **Diary the deadlines** for delivery; if missed, flag for the private-right-of-action analysis.

## Artifacts this skill drafts

- **Master report-request checklist** — every Big-3 + specialty CRA the consumer should order, the

entitlement invoked for each, and a delivery-due date column.

- **Specialty-CRA request letter** — a per-agency letter requesting the free annual file disclosure

(and the report-of-record), with identity-verification enclosures listed.

- **Post-adverse-action free-report demand** — references the adverse-action notice, invokes

§ 1681j(b), and requests the report relied upon within the statutory window.

Each artifact ends with the `NOT LEGAL ADVICE` disclaimer.

## Related federal authority

Beyond the FCRA sections above, route to these already-shared corpora:

- **Reg V (12 CFR Part 1022)** — the FCRA's implementing regulation:

[`../../references/federal-debt-laws/Reg-V.md`](../../references/federal-debt-laws/Reg-V.md).

§§ 1022.130–1022.142 govern the **free annual report** and the centralized source

(annualcreditreport.com); § 1022.123 covers the **identity-theft summary of rights** a victim is

entitled to receive.

- **ECOA § 1691(d) + Reg B § 1002.9** —

[`../../references/federal-debt-laws/ECOA.md`](../../references/federal-debt-laws/ECOA.md) /

[`../../references/federal-debt-laws/Reg-B.md`](../../references/federal-debt-laws/Reg-B.md).

A credit **denial notice** is an adverse-action notice under ECOA / Reg B as well as FCRA

§ 1681m — cite both when a denial letter is the free-report trigger or the documented harm.

## Composition

- Errors found here → **`consumer-report-accuracy`** (PII, Date of First Delinquency, dispute

marking) and **`consumer-credit-disputes`** (lawful dispute).

- Denial letters / non-delivery → **`consumer-harm-documentation`** (build the damages record).

- Ongoing ordering cadence → **`consumer-credit-monitoring`**.

- Underlying debt defense → the state **`*-consumer-debt`** bundle; pro-se mechanics → the state

**`*-pro-se`** skill.